Automatic air clamp for air-driven machine

ABSTRACT

An air-driven machine, such as a rotary vibrator, is mountable on a structure by cooperative male and female parts and an airinflatable envelope is interposed between the parts to be inflated by the same air under pressure that drives the machine so that the mounting connection between the machine and structure is improved.

United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,804,375 Matson Apr. 16, 1974 AUTOMATICAIR CLAMP FOR [56] References Cited AIR-DRIVEN MACHINE UNITED STATESPATENTS [75] Inventor: Carl G. Matson, Kewanee, 111. 3,415,471 10/1968Matson 248/19 X 3,412,991 11/1968 De Naples, Jr. et a1. 269/22 X 1Asslgnw g Company, 3,168,870 2/1965 HOmSChuCll 415/111 eponset FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [22] July 1972 714,428 7/1965 Canada 248/19 [21]App]. No.: 276,765

Primary ExaminerRobert W. Jenkins Related Apphcanon Data AssistantExaminer-Alan I. Cantor Continuation-impart Of SCI. NO. May 8, AttorneyAgent or Firm Ha ld M. Knoth 1972, abandoned.

57 ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 259/1 R, 248/14, 248/19, 1

259/DIG 43 An a1r-dr1ven machine, such as a rotary v1brator, 1s [51] IntCl B0" 11/00 mountable on a structure by cooperative male and fe- 58]Fie'ld DIG. 44 male parts and an air-inflatable envelope is interposed259/DIG. 41, DIG. 42; 248/14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 223, 224, 225;415/121;

417/360; 269/22, 20, 35; 254/93 R, 93 HP, 93 H; 164/206, 261; 198/220DD; 425/456 between the parts to be inflated by the same air underpressure that drives the machine so that the mounting connection betweenthe machine and structure is improved.

17 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures ATENTEB APR 1 6 H 174 SHEET 1 BF 2 PEBBLE-AUTOMATIC AIR CLAMP FOR AIR-DRIVEN MACHINE RELATED APPLICATION Thisapplication is a vcontinuation-in-part and claims the benefit of thefiling date of my co-pending applica tion Ser. No. 251,329, filed 8 MayI972, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A vibrator, such as those illustrated in theUS. Pat. to E. F. Peterson, Nos. 2,917,290; 3,076,346 or as illustratedin the US. Pat. to C. G. Matson, No. 3,318,163, may be selected asrepresentative of an air-driven machine mountable on and dismountablefrom a structure which, in the instance chosen here as an example, wouldbe an object to be vibrated; e.g., a materialscontaining hopper, aconveyor, a concrete form, etc. Fundamentally, the typical mountingshould be tempo rary; i.e., the vibrator should be removable when itsassigned task is completed. To thisend, a common vibrator design willinclude some means by which it can be mounted on and dismounted from astructure, and experience has shown that the most efficient and leastcostly type of mount is that using cooperative male and female elementswhereby the vibrator may be selectively moved into and out of engagementwith the structure.

Many types of purely mechanical connections have been used, such aswedges, cooperative shapes, etc. It is also known to provide aninflatable envelope between clutch parts, for example, to finalize theconnection. Likewise, it is known to use hydraulic means including apiston cylinder operated vibratormounting device powered by the oil thatsupplies an oil-driven vibrator. So far as is known, however, it is newto provide an air-inflatable envelope of elastomer material andparticularly one supplied in common, by air under pressure, with theair-driven part of the machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, an air-driven machine-represented in the instantdisclosure by a vibrator-is mountable on and dismountable from astructure by means including cooperative male and female parts, or thelike, and an inflatable envelope means interposed between the machineand structure, together with air inlet means that functions to supplyair under pressure to both inflate the envelope means and to drive themachine part. A further feature is that the male and female parts orelements are constructed so that a compartment, or its equivalent, isprovided between them and in which the envelope means is disposed. Astill further feature is an envelope-to-machine connection that enablesthe envelope means to disconnect quickly and safely from the machine inthe event that the machine is inadvertently started before beingmounted-which would inflate the envelope simultaneously, whereby theenvelope is simply blown off" via its connection to the machine andcannot cause damage, etc.

A further feature of the invention is to provide the envelope means as aplurality of separate envelopes so as to more uniformly distribute thepressure or forces between the machine and its mounting. Still further,the male and female elements are so constructed as to provide protectivecompartmentalization for the envelope means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is an elevation of one form ofmachine in its mounted status.

FIG. 2 is a partial section as seen generally along the line 22 of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section as seen generally along the line 3-3 ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective of a portion of the mounting means, illustratingparticularly one form of stop means.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, showing another form ofmounting means.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of another form ofmounting, featuring a pair of separate envelopes.

FIG. 7 is an end view of the structure shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the structure of FIGS. 6 and 7.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As observed earlier herein, avibrator is selected as exemplary of a machine to which the inventionmay be applied, and the ensuing description will proceed on that basis.The vibrator shown here is of the type forming the subject matter of theabove-mentioned Matson patent and is designated as a whole by thenumeral 10. It comprises, for purposes to be served here, a housing 12which forms an air-receivable: chamber 14 within which is eccentricallymounted a cylindrical rotor 16. A port 18 is receivable of air underpressure from any suitable source to drive the rotor in its orbit withinthe chamber 14. An air-discharge port will be seen at 20. The details,although not important here, may be learned from the Matson patent.

The structure on which the machine or vibrator is mountable is indicatedat 22. In the vibrator environment, this may be any selectedobject to bevibrated. For the purpose of effecting mountability and dismountability,the machine 10 and structure 22 have cooperative male and femaleelements 24 and 26 respectively, the latter preferably comprising a pairof spaced apart parallel tracks 28 welded or otherwise rigidly securedto the structure. In FIGS. 1-4, these tracks converge toward each otherto afford a wedging action with complementarily sloped ramp portions 30on the male element 24, and all these portions are so shaped that arecess or compartment 32 is formed between the parts of the structureand housing that face each other. In the present case, the face portionof the structure is its upper surface and that of the housing is itslower or base portion, but these will, of course, change geographicallyaccording to the position in which the machine is mounted. Thedescription is therefore explanatory and not limiting.

As will be seen, the machine may be slid into and out of place on thestructure, and it is desired that some stop means be provided along theline or path accord ing to which mounting is effected, especially whenthe structure is vertical and the machine is inserted from above. Oneform of such stop means. is shown in FIG. 4 as comprising a ledge 34against which the machine may be abutted.

Another form of male and female elements is illustrated in FIG. 5,wherein a machine a is mounted on a structure 22a by associated portions26a and 30a in which the wedging action described above is not used. Asabove, however, the compartmentation is provided, here at 32a.

Normally, unless the fit between the male and female elements is quitetight, or the forces involved are somewhat low, some means must be usedto augment the clamping action between the machine and the structure. Inthe present case, an inflatable elastomer envelope or pancake 36 isused. In FIG. 5, this appears at 36a. Any suitable envelope may be used,having adequate strength, resistance to wear and abuse, etc. As will beseen, and having reference to the mounting and dismounting of themachine relative to the structure 22 along a certain path (lengthwise ofthe tracks 26), the envelope 36 is inflatable crosswise of this path;i.e., it forces the machine and structure apart but in such direction asto augment or finalize the gripping action between the portions 26 and30 (or 26a and 30a). In particular, the envelope 36 is disposed in thecompartment 32 (or 32a).

The housing 12 of the machine 10, in addition to having the main rotorchamber 14, is constructed in such fashion as to include an auxiliarychamber 38, here in its "bottom or the part that faces' the structure22, and thus the housing has a wall 40 in which is formed an opening 42,preferably surrounded by a depending neck 44. The wall 40 may beextended to include the male portions 30 and welding may be relied uponto construct the housing and its associated components.

The envelope 36 has an opening 46 which registers with the opening 42via a telescopic fit with the neck 44, and the connection is improved bythe use of an airtight seal 48. Air under pressure from any suitablesource is supplied to the auxiliary chamber 38 by means of an inlet 50and, because of the air-conducting connection at 42-46 between thechamber and the envelope, the latter will be inflated. At the same time,the chamber 38 is connected by means of a second airconductingconnection 52 (here external to the housing 12) to the rotor chamberport 18, so that the same pressurized air supplies both the rotorchamber and the envelope, which makes the system automatic. Theconfinement of the envelope or pancake 36 in the compartment 32 gives itprotection and places it where it functions most effectively.

The air-inlet means established by the chamber 38 and its connections42-46 to the envelope and 52 to the rotor chamber 14 insures that bothreceiving areas are supplied at the same time, so that it is a simplematter to make the mechanical connection between the machine 10 andstructure 22, after which the air supply is turned on and a properaugmentation of the connection between the machine and structure 22 isimmediately and automatically effected. As noted above, should themachine be operated without being connected to the structure, theenvelope will be automatically and safely disconnected by reason of thetelescopic connection at 4446, so that the envelope cannot beoverinflated etc. The stop 34 prevents accidental dislodgement of themachine before and after the envelope is inflated.

In that form of the invention shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the above basicprinciples are followed. A mounting member, here a female element 55 iscomposed of an inverted channel 57 to opposite sides of which are weldedangles 59 which form tracks like those at 26 and 26a. The male elementis a plate 61 which slidably fits between the tracks 59. The mountedmachine may be a vibrator of the type discussed above but itsconfiguration differs because it is mounted on the male member 61 by anintervening mount 63 from which it is removable. Accordingly, thevibrator comprises a casing 65 pivotally connected by a pin 67 to lugsor ears 69 formed integrally with a bottom portion 71 which includes asecond pair of integral ears 73 to which a swing bolt 75 is pivoted by across pin 77. The vibrator casing has a slotted lug 79 into which thebolt 75 is received, and a nut 81 is tightened to draw the casingtightly against the ears 73 by means of an abutment 83 on the casing.The particular type of mounting forms no part of the present inventionand other forms may be used, as may the mounting of FIGS. 1-4 to theextent that the situation accommodates the use of envelope means of theclass already described.

The mounting portion 71 includes a bottom recess 85 spaced from butsealed to the plate 61 by welding or other means and the result is acavity or auxiliary chamber that opens to the underside of the plate 61by means of a plurality (here two) of openings 87, each leading to anenvelope or pancake 89. These are similar to but of course smaller thanthat described above but have the advantage that, in an elongated space,they cover more areas and thus are capable of more evenly distributingpressure or force as the envelopes are inflated to tighten the plate 61,together with the mount 63 and vibrator 65, to the structure 55; i.e.,when the envelopes expand, they exert an upward force on the plate 61and force its top against the overhanging lips of the tracks or angles59.

The connection of each envelope S9 to the cavity or auxilary chamber 85is telescopic, as shown at 91 and may be the same as that describedabove at 42-44-4- 6-48, giving the same safety results when envelopeinflation inadvertently occurs without connection of the elements 55 and61.

Air supply to the cavity 85 and to the interior of the casing 65 is hereachieved by means of a modified T fitting 93 having an inlet line 95 forairunder pressure, an outlet in the form of a hose 97 for supplying thecasing chamber and a connection at 99 to a drilled passage 101 thatleads to the cavity 85.

As shown in the drawings, the envelopes 89 are static, or not inflated,resulting in a loose fit between the structure 55 and the plate 61.Because the angles or tracks 59 enclose the structure from the sides(FIG. 7), the same compartmentation is provided as in FIGS. 14; i.e.,the formation of a compartment in which the envelope means 89 islocated, the angles 59 being in side-protective relation to theenvelopes. In addition, the plate carries at each end an arcuatedepending skirt 103 (FIG. 8) which provides protection for the envelopesfrom the ends of the structure. Thus the envelopes are substantiallycompletely enclosed.

It will be understood that the parts of the several modificationsdisclosed here may be interchanged; for example, the plural envelopestructure of FIGS. 6-8 is not limited to the specific mount 63, nor tothe specific form of vibrator 65. Likewise, the single envelope means ofFIG. 1-4 could employ the mount, vibrator, etc., of FIGS. 6-8.

I claim:

l. A vibrator and mounting structure therefor in which the vibratorincludes a housing providing a chamber containing a drivable movablepart for creating vibrations, the housing and structure includecooperative male and female elements by means of which the housing maybe mounted on and dismounted from the structure and releasable clampmeans for selectively clamping the housing to and releasing thehousinflated when the chamber is pressurized and automatically deflatedwhen the chamber is depressurized.

3. The invention defined in claim 2, further characterized in that thehousing includes a fluid inlet means leading to both the chamber and theenvelope means.

4. The invention defined in claim 2, further characterized in that thefluid inlet means includes a housing portion forming an auxiliarychamber having a first fluid-conducting connection to the envelope meansand a second fluid-conducting connection to the chamber.

5. The invention defined in claim 4, further characterized in that thefirst connection includes cooperative telescopically interfittingportions respectively on the housing and the envelope means so that inthe event of attempted inflation of the envelope means when the housingis dismounted the envelope will be forced off of the housing.

6. The invention defined in claim 5, further characterized in that oneof the portions is neck-like, the other portion includes an opening intowhich the neck fits and an air-tight seal is provided between the twoportions.

7. The invention defined in claim 1 in which the cooperative elementsare connectible and disconnectible by relative movement along a definedpath and the envelope means is inflatable crosswise of that path.

8. The invention defined in claim-7, in which stop means cooperatesbetween the elements to limit said relative movement along said path inthe direction of connection of said elements.

9. The invention defined in claim 7 in which the female element includesa pair of spaced tracks defining a channel, the male element is shapedto fit the channel, the elements are fashioned to provide a compartmentbetween them, and the envelope means is positioned in said compartment.

10. The invention defined in claim 9, further characterized in that thetracks are convergent toward each other and the male element iscomplementarily shaped to provide a wedging action when the envelopemeans is inflated.

11. The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that thehousing has a face portion disposed toward the structure when thevibrator is mounted and including a recess defined in part by the maleelement so that when the elements are fitted together a compartment isformed between the housing and the structure and the envelope means isdisposed in said compartment.

12. The invention defined in claim 11, further characterized in that theface portion has an opening forming part of a fluid inlet means and theenvelope means has an opening registering with the first-mentionedopening to provide at least part of the connection to said inlet means.

13. The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that theenvelope means includes at least a pair of separate side-by-sideenvelopes arranged for simultaneous inflation and deflation thereof.

14. The invention defined in claim 13, further characterized in that oneof the elements has a fluidcavity connected to both envelopes andconnectible to a source of fluid pressure.

15. The invention defined in claim 13, further characterized in that oneof the elements provides a pair of spaced apart tracks and the otherelement fits between the tracks, the envelopes are located between andprotected at their sides by the tracks, and one of the elements includesa pair of skirts extending between the tracks in protective relation tothe opposite ends of the envelopes.

16. The invention defined in claim 13, further characterized in thatoneelement has a face portion facing toward and spaced from the otherelement, said one element has an auxiliary fluid chamber and said faceportion has a pair of openings therethrough and communieating with theauxiliary chamber, and the envelopes are located between the elementsand communicate respectively with the chamber. via said openings.

17. The invention defined in claim 16, further characterized in thateach envelope is associated with its opening by a telescopicconnectionso that in the event of attempted inflation of the envelopes when theelements are not connected the, envelopes will be forced off of theirrespective connections with said face por-' tion.

1. A vibrator and mounting structure therefor in which the vibratorincludes a housing providing a chamber containing a drivable movablepart for creating vibrations, the housing and structure includecooperative male and female elements by means of which the housing maybe mounted on and dismounted from the structure and releasable clampmeans for selectively clamping the housing to and releasing the housingfrom the structure, characterized in that the clamp means includes anelastomer envelope means interposed between the elements and selectivelyfluid-pressurizible and depressurizible for respectively inflating anddeflating to clamp and unclamp the housing relative to the structure. 2.The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that thehousing chamber is selectively fluid-pressurizible and depressurizibleto drive and stop the movable part and the chamber and envelope meansare connected in common to a source of fluid under pressure whereby theenvelope means is automatically inflated when the chamber is pressurizedand automatically deflated when the chamber is depressurized.
 3. Theinvention defined in claim 2, further characterized in that the housingincludes a fluid inlet means leading to both the chamber and theenvelope means.
 4. The invention defined in claim 2, furthercharacterized in that the fluid inlet means includes a housing portionforming an auxiliary chamber having a first fluid-conducting connectionto the envelope means and a second fluid-conducting connection to thechamber.
 5. The invention defined in claim 4, further characterized inthat the first connection includes cooperative telescopicallyinterfitting portions respectively on the housing and the envelope meansso that in the event of attempted inflation of the Envelope means whenthe housing is dismounted the envelope will be forced off of thehousing.
 6. The invention defined in claim 5, further characterized inthat one of the portions is neck-like, the other portion includes anopening into which the neck fits and an air-tight seal is providedbetween the two portions.
 7. The invention defined in claim 1 in whichthe cooperative elements are connectible and disconnectible by relativemovement along a defined path and the envelope means is inflatablecrosswise of that path.
 8. The invention defined in claim 7, in whichstop means cooperates between the elements to limit said relativemovement along said path in the direction of connection of saidelements.
 9. The invention defined in claim 7 in which the femaleelement includes a pair of spaced tracks defining a channel, the maleelement is shaped to fit the channel, the elements are fashioned toprovide a compartment between them, and the envelope means is positionedin said compartment.
 10. The invention defined in claim 9, furthercharacterized in that the tracks are convergent toward each other andthe male element is complementarily shaped to provide a wedging actionwhen the envelope means is inflated.
 11. The invention defined in claim1, further characterized in that the housing has a face portion disposedtoward the structure when the vibrator is mounted and including a recessdefined in part by the male element so that when the elements are fittedtogether a compartment is formed between the housing and the structureand the envelope means is disposed in said compartment.
 12. Theinvention defined in claim 11, further characterized in that the faceportion has an opening forming part of a fluid inlet means and theenvelope means has an opening registering with the first-mentionedopening to provide at least part of the connection to said inlet means.13. The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that theenvelope means includes at least a pair of separate side-by-sideenvelopes arranged for simultaneous inflation and deflation thereof. 14.The invention defined in claim 13, further characterized in that one ofthe elements has a fluid cavity connected to both envelopes andconnectible to a source of fluid pressure.
 15. The invention defined inclaim 13, further characterized in that one of the elements provides apair of spaced apart tracks and the other element fits between thetracks, the envelopes are located between and protected at their sidesby the tracks, and one of the elements includes a pair of skirtsextending between the tracks in protective relation to the opposite endsof the envelopes.
 16. The invention defined in claim 13, furthercharacterized in that one element has a face portion facing toward andspaced from the other element, said one element has an auxiliary fluidchamber and said face portion has a pair of openings therethrough andcommunicating with the auxiliary chamber, and the envelopes are locatedbetween the elements and communicate respectively with the chamber viasaid openings.
 17. The invention defined in claim 16, furthercharacterized in that each envelope is associated with its opening by atelescopic connection so that in the event of attempted inflation of theenvelopes when the elements are not connected the envelopes will beforced off of their respective connections with said face portion.